Thursday, October 15, 2015

One of the top things on our 'to do' list when we purchased our home was to replace the front door. It was broken to begin with, a break that was not repairable. As we set the process in motion to replace the door, we learned a great many things.

The first one is that with a door comes a sill. The structural sill is a foundation to the integrity of the exterior wall, and of course, the door. It was suspected that a portion of our sill would need to be replaced because the brick steps built long ago were right up against the house and had no drainage, trapping water against the wall each time it rained.

Because sills (especially rotten sills) have been a theme to our renovation, I will dedicate an entire post on them in the future. I can only write this without anxiety as we are officially free of rotten sills - having replaced portions of four during our renovation.

Here's the old (although not original) broken door. This photo was taken after the sill was repaired and new sheathing boards patched in to replace rotten ones. There was also quite a bit of rot in a post that was right behind a poorly installed wall lantern which also allowed water into the wall.

You can also see a mock up that our craftsman Jack Crane did for us of the new pediment and pilaster design. The mock up has been so very helpful in determining the details of the new surround. A mock-up such as this is something you do not have the privilege of having when you buy from a large door manufacturer - although you may pay just as much for the door.

One of the themes of our renovation has been to use local craftsman as much as possible as opposed to large manufacturers. After our last house, we have the experience of both approaches and have to say that returning to sourcing local millwork and materials to the extent possible contributes significantly to the essence of our renovation.

Among other items, our restored stairs and rail, windows and front door came from small workshops made by true craftsmen. The energy that is embodied in these handcrafted items create their story. For each element, the story starts with the hands that craft it, and the thought, consideration and care that went into it. It makes a regular old door come alive with a personality that becomes a part of our home.

Jack Crane comes from a family of boat builders. Their legacy of working with wood is one that will be forever instilled in the windows and entry he has made for our home. In some ways, it lends the newly-crafted items a spirit of age when you put into context the generations of hands that lead to them.

Tools of the trade....

Our beautiful new door is nearing completion in Jack's millworks where he has the fortune of an equally-talented supporting cast in Wade and David. The door has been crafted in the Federal style, which Jack is very knowledgable of.

Like any artist's studio, it is fascinating to see the tools of the trade.

Each plane has its own story. These hand planes each have an individual profile that is used create time-period mouldings ranging in size and character

Here is the mock up that Jack and Wade created so that we could get an idea of the proportions of the pediment and pilasters.

Discussing the cornice edge finishing details with a sketch.

Here is the raw material for our future frieze. The frieze is the wide horizontal band over the door and beneath the cornice.

What a fascinating article, thank you so much for taking all the wonderful photos and explaining it all. Woodworking is such a skilled craft. We had French doors made to measure by a local carpenter in our village here in France, it took months but the end result was so worth waiting for - modern technology, firm fitting, no draughts, double glazing etc, all fitted inside timelessly elegant hand crafted doors.

The details of your renovation are fascinsting. The best parts are your dedication to authenticity and quality and your use of experienced, invested local craftsmen. The smallest details are forever insightful and fascinating to those of us who are privileged to be included in the beautiful process. Thank you!

It's so true, I do think I may embarrass them but they so deserve the praise. A wife of one of our craftsman (Darryn) mentioned how lovely it was to see her husband at work when reading the posts. I agreed as I really didn't know what Mike did until there was a video made of him! Best, Catherine

I hope you heard the sigh of relief from your house when you and Mike acquired it. You gave the best example of restoring vs. renovating, which makes me tears eyed at the thought. You are preserving that house for the next 150-200+ years.

I thought we would all along and then I realized after driving around and looking at other historic homes, most did not have lanterns on the front of the house. I think I prefer that, especially since Mike found a great deal of rot behind the old front door lantern he removed. I may go with a post and light instead. Always so happy to hear from you Flo! Best, Catherine

Great post. I truly admire these craftsmen and the work they do. My husband and I currently live in a suburban neighborhood, and although they are nice homes, with huge open floor plans, we have continually felt something was lacking. So we are purchasing an older home and will soon begin our journey of restoring a brick Tudor to its original warmth and charm. Also, I must add, every time I read the name Jack Crane on your blog, I think of "Frasier." Have you seen the episode of "Frasier" where Niles and Daphne are discussing the name of their future baby and Niles declares his feelings about "the dreaded glottal stop "JacK Crane", "JacK Crane?" It's such a funny scene and I imagine that your craftsman Jack Crane has heard about it many times. :)